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Men's Hoops Falls to Wake Forest
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January 2, 1999
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – Darius Songalia scored 22 points and freshman Ervin Murray added a career-high 14 in his first start as Wake Forest brokeaway late Saturday and beat an undermanned Virginia squad 69-53.
Up by only seven points, the Demon Deacons (10-4, 1-1 Atlantic CoastConference) hit six of nine free throws over a two-minute span to expand theiradvantage to 65-50 with 2:11 to play.
Virginia, forced by injuries and transfers to go with just six scholarshipplayers and several walk-ons, trailed just 30-27 at halftime after being downby as many as 10 points early.
Wake Forest used a 11-2 run to open the second half capped by a RobertO’Kelley 3-pointer to make it 41-29 lead with 15:35 to go. The Demon Deaconskept the lead in double digits until the Cavaliers (9-5, 0-2 ACC) made a briefcomeback bid with under five minutes to go.
Donald Hand’s 3-pointer off a turnover brought the Cavaliers to within sevenat 57-50 with 4:10 to play. But a Craig Dawson layup and six free throws putthe game out of reach.
Both teams struggled from the field – Wake Forest shot 39 percent, whileVirginia shot 36 percent – but the Demon Deacons hit 26 of 34 (77 percent) freethrows, including 10 of 12 in the final 5:07.
The Cavaliers, the second-best free-throw shooting team in the ACC, went twoof nine from the foul line. They also struggled from 3-point range, hittingjust five of 29 shots. Wake Forest also dominated the boards 49-29.
Hand led the Cavaliers with 13 points while Chezley Watson scored 11. GuardAdam Hall came off the bench to score 10 points, but leading scorer ChrisWilliams, who came in averaging 19.7 points a game, was held to just ninepoints.